Elders Curse
by Black2Nerdy
Summary: So it's only right then correct? That I may at least see my grandson before I die. So that he will truly see, truly feel, the pain I've been put through because of his mother's negligence. It is only right that I may escape this living hell I've been forced to experience. It's only right that someone should take my place. It's only right that should be Percy Jackson, my grandson.
1. Prologue: Elders Grief

_Dear Diary,_

_ The sun shines brighter than ever on this bright summer afternoon, and I absolutely hate it. A lifetime ago I would be outside, running with Kali, enjoying life. Alas I am at the end of another life cycle. _

_ I have grown ever weary of the dull decor of this room. The room I have been trapped in for almost twenty years. The dust is so prevalent it threatens to choke the air right out of my barely living soul. The bed creeks so badly under my weight you'd think me to be a sumo wrestler. The covers are so stiff I'd think cardboard would be more comfortable. _

_ The days are so hot, and the nights are so cold, yet I haven't the ability to do anything about either. I'm forced to smell my own filth, the filth I've been laying for the last twenty years._

_ My throat's dryness is easily comparable to that of an ocean; my hunger is not unlike that of a starving vulture. The pain in my bones refuses to go away as I feel them constantly, every hour of everyday. _

_ I haven't a family that cares for me anymore. My daughter has abandoned me. If only she knew the situation I am in. I can do little more than write in this damned journal now. I shudder to think what'll happen when I am out of paper or ink. _

_ So it's only right then, correct? That I may at least see my grandson before I die. So that he will truly see, truly feel, the pain I've been put through because of his mother's negligence. It is only right. _

_ It is only right that I may escape this living hell I've been forced to experience. It's only right that someone should take my place. It's only right that person should be Percy Jackson, my grandson. Kali, I promise you things, we will escape this._

The elder woman dropped her pen so that it was still close to her body for she feared if it traveled far, she would never be able to use it again. With much effort, she sat up in her bed and closed the notebook and carefully set it on a dresser that was in arms reach. Kali had worked far too hard getting that book to let it get lost like the few other 'toys' Kali had brought her.

She then lay back down and took a deep breath. Something she instantly regretted, as numerous dust mites instantly flooded her lungs and caused her to go into a fit of coughing and wheezing.

Almost instantly, a lean black cat jumped on the bed and curled right next to her. Its golden eyes pierced into her dead green ones. The coughing wore down after a couple minutes, though it could have easily been minutes or even hours.

"I promise you Kali, we will escape this place. You remember how we got out last time correct?" The woman asked the cat.

The cat gave a simple meow in response before curling back into a ball. Though not visible, the elder woman was silently smiling to herself. It wouldn't be long, not long at all…


	2. Chapter 1: Note to Self

"Oh you poor thing…" Sally mumbled more to herself than her son. She sat on the edge of the small bed, causing it to droop ever so slightly. Sally wore her standard work uniform, a red and white sweater accompanied with a blue skirt that ran just past her knees; a blue hat and a name tag reading_: Sweet on America_ to compliment the uniform. Her natural brown color was starting to lose a bit of color as she could see grey strands already sprouting out of her hair. She was far from old, only in her mid thirties, but the work she is constantly put under was enough to make anyone stress.

She looked down at her sickened son and smiled warmly, though his eyes were closed so she doubted he could see her. He was the main reason her life was stressful, and she couldn't be happier that he was with her. He made putting up with Gabe, working two jobs, and getting her master's degree all worth it.

Sally gave a deep sigh and looked at her son, meanwhile readjusting the ice pack on his forehead. She hated having to rely on him like so, but he truly was the one thing in life worth living for. Sally couldn't find much reason to live other than to be with her son.

She thought of all the happy time's they had shared in his twelve years of life. All the time's they would head to Montauk Beach, just the two of them. Together they would roast marshmallows and hotdogs, play in the water, and exchange stories. He would tell her about his struggles at school and she would tell him about her work. And, of course, she would bring his favorite blue candy. Life was simple when it was just the two of them, and she always longed for times like that to stay. Alas, the moments she most cherished were the ones that passed the quickest.

This was especially true with him now twelve years old. She knew, no matter how smelly Gabe was, she couldn't mask his scent for much longer. When that happened, she would lose her main purpose for living for at least a summer, possibly even more. That's why she had made plans.

Providing he was healthy, she would take him to the beach this weekend. It was only Tuesday, so he had plenty of time to get better.

For one last time she sighed before kissing her son, Percy's, forehead and exiting the room. As much as she wanted to care for Percy herself, if they were going to afford the trip to Montauk, then she would need to work as many hours as possible.

Gently, she closed his door and walked into the living room of the apartment. Beer cans, fast-food wrappers, along with random chunks of food were scattered amongst the main floor. Sally was astounded by this, usually when she cleaned it would stay clean for at least a week. She had just finished cleaning the room Saturday and it was already a pigs sty (or as Percy put is, a 'Gabe's Sty).

It seemed as though Gabe noticed this much as well, as he communicated it with his introduction.

"Sally, the room is an absolute disaster! Didn' I tell ya to clean her up on Friday!?" He yelled, seemingly furious.

No 'good morning honey!'

No 'How is Percy doing?'

Not even so much as a simple hello.

Sally growled internally but held a kind façade in front of Gabe. Instead of saying some of the more colorful things she wanted to say (which had netted her a couple bruises in the past) she simply smiled and said:

"My apologize _hubby_, it must have slipped my mind. I can be such a dolt sometime's. I'll be sure to clean it before I head to Montauk." Oh how much Sally hated calling this man _hubby _though he forced her to. Oh how much she hated demeaning herself, though he forced her too. Oh how much she didn't want to clean up after this pig, though he forced her too.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced quickly at Percy's room, and remembered once again why she was putting up with this man. Smiling inwardly at Percy, and externally at Gabe, she picked up on whatever he was currently ranting about.

"I expected more from you when I married you. Who knew not havin' a diploma could make a girl such a scatterbrained monkey? Though I suppose you do have your uses…" He trailed off, not taking his eyes away from the part of her legs not covered by the skirt. Sally felt the need to hurl, punch, and run away from this man all at the same time. She had luckily avoided any sort of sexual contact from him thus far (not from lack of trying on Gabe's part).

She also didn't tell him that she'd already completed her college exams and got her diploma last year. She didn't know how he would respond to such information so she only told Percy. She figured keeping the ditzy middle aged woman act was the safest path at the current time period.

Before Gabe could try any sort of advancement on her, or her skirt more specifically, she quickly hurried out the door, rushing the phrases 'I gotta go to work, I'm running late, and love you, bye' all at the same time so that none of the phrases could be completely audible. Gabe stood still for a good minute and once he had snapped out of his doldrums, Sally was already driving off too work.

Sally didn't know how much longer she could put up with Gabe. She wanted to say as long as possible (which didn't seem much longer if Poseidon's word was to mean anything) but she just wasn't sure. She may have to chance herself with the monsters that are sure to come. At least those kinds of monsters can be fought. Gabe was a completely different type of monster, one she couldn't kill, and couldn't deal with being alive. Shaking her head she turned on the radio to drown out the sounds of her thoughts. She had two jobs to do before coming home; she couldn't afford to get distracted (literally).

Meanwhile Percy Jackson, who had been listening intently for the sound of his mother car to go, arose from his bed the second he heard it leave. He tossed of the ice pack and began to furiously rub his head in a humorous attempt to heat it back up.

He hated having to fake being sick, but he didn't see much of an alternative to doing so today. He had got into a heated argument with Nancy and her friends yesterday and apparently said some things they didn't appreciate, if the angry faces and cusswords were any sort of implication. Long story short, he has about three guys from Nancy's 'crew' that all wanted to gut him like a fish.

Percy usually didn't mind these guys, in fact he'd go to school looking forward to a quick tussle or two, but this time was different. Because of a cannibal incident on the last field trip (don't ask) and the fact that he had been caught in three fights this year meant that if he was caught breaking another major rule, he'd be expelled.

Percy had yet to complete a full school year, he was always expelled for some reason or another, and usually they weren't his fault. Percy was far from a trouble maker, his mom constantly reminded him of that. It was just when Percy's friends (the few of them he had) got bullied that he'd really get mad other students.

Either way, Percy couldn't bear to face his mother after getting expelled from another school, especially when the school year was so close to being over. His mother never said it, but he knew she was disappointed every time he was expelled. So, not wanting to risk getting into a fight today, Percy took what he saw was the best course of action; faking sick to stay home from school.

Percy walked into the living room on his way towards the kitchen, aiming to make himself breakfast. He was hoping Gabe would be on the couch, completely absorbed on the ESPN broadcast. That way he could maybe sneak some food away without having to deal with Gabe. Unluckily for him, Gabe was still staring at the door where his mother had retreated from at least a minute ago. Because he had nothing distracting him, he heard Percy the second he was in the room.

Gabe looked surprised to see me for a second before his shocked expression melted into a smirk, a smirk Percy had learned to hate over time. Gabe walked over to Percy, his facial expression never changing.

"Well what do we have here? The little punk thinks he's skipping school does he?" He was now standing directly right over Percy, giving him a great look at his pudgy belly.

"I'm sick; I'm staying home today to get the better today." Percy mumbled at him while trying to avoid seeing any part of this man's frame; which, when you're standing two feet away from him, is almost impossible to do.

"O' really now? You don' look too sick if ya ask me."

"Well nobody asked you?" Percy snapped at him without thinking. Gabe didn't appreciate that outburst too much. He kneeled down so he was just a little bit shorter than Percy and looked directly in his eyes.

"I don' appreciate your tone of voice, punk! Talk to me like that again and it'll be one of the last things ya do, ya hear?" Percy nodded his head quickly. He wanted to come up with a comeback, but saying anything after that man breathes the toxins that are his breath in your face is nay impossible.

"Good, now I'm in the mood for eggs, do something about that." Gabe said as he rose back to his full height. Sighing in defeat, Percy trekked to the kitchen to make Gabe some eggs.

Unfortunately for him, eggs were the only real breakfast food left, and there were only two left. After making Gabe his breakfast Percy realized that he had nothing really left to eat. Never the less, Percy delivered the breakfast to Gabe without a word before retreating back to the kitchen.

Percy found an apple at the bottom of the refrigerator, how old it was he wasn't completely certain. He doubted it'd be the tastiest breakfast, but he decided it'll do. After finishing his apple he walked towards the trash can, where he found a most peculiar note.

Percy had been seeing mail for years now, but not once had he seen a handwritten letter. So upon seeing a crumpled up piece of what looked like a fine piece of paper with beautiful cursive hand writing, Percy was instantly curious. He removed the paper, replacing with his apple core, and walked to his room. Gabe, who was distracted by his breakfast and the TV, didn't see this any of this exchange.

Percy cracked his door (Gabe said no closed doors) and plopped on his bed, before unraveling the paper. The paper had soft tinge of yellow to it and was a lot rougher than the paper's Percy used for his school work. In beautiful blue ink, the paper read:

_To My Daughter,_

_Sally, you haven't any idea how much I have been longing to see you again. How much I've wanted to see the grandson I don't doubt you already have. How much I wanted to say my goodbyes to you before I leave this earth._

_Alas, I can't seem to communicate with you. When my phone worked, you never answered my calls. This is the 23__rd__ letter I've sent in the last three years, not one of the previous 22 has been answered by you. I even sent Kali to get you, but he tells me you didn't recognize him. He misses you by the way, Kali; he used to love spending time with you._

_I know we had our disagreement when you were younger, I understand that. But, I beg of you, please don't abandon me any longer. I haven't seen you in over twenty years, and I know my time on this earth is becoming increasingly smaller._

_I just want to atone for my sins against you in the past. I don't want to die with such events still on my consciousness. Just once, please, come visit me. Let me see your face just once more._

_Love,_

_Viola Jackson_

_P.S_

_Bring Percy _

Percy had dyslexia, and always had a rough time reading things. Never the less, he was able to make out the purpose of this letter; and this letter had confused him greatly.

His mom was a kind, forgiving spirit, why would she not visit her own mother. That was so unlike the mother Percy knew. His mother was also never one to lie. Yet she told him he had no sort of grandparents, at least none that were alive. Yet here was a letter from his grandma, and it had just come in the mail yesterday.

It didn't add up, and Percy had planned to talk about it when his mom got home. However, the more he thought about it, that would just make his mom upset and more unlikely to ever visit his grandma. That when Percy hatched what he thought was a brilliant idea.

He'd go to the address on the letter and get his grandma. Then he would be able to get her home and hopeful surprise his mom when she came home from work. Then, hopefully, they'd make up with each other and Percy would finally have a relationship with an adult that wasn't his mother.

Percy smiled at himself for thinking of such a plan, and began to think how he could activate this plan.

**A/N**

Uh-Oh Percy, if only you knew what you were getting into. Oh well, we'll see how this is resolved in the next chapter. Firstly, I'd like to thank all the positive feedback I got from the first chapter, I really appreciate it.

Also, I'd like to talk about the pairing. As you can tell, this is set right before the events of the first book, meaning both Percy and Annabeth will be young. Because of this, don't expect to see a large amount of romance as I feel they just aren't old enough for all that good stuff ;). Their relationship will be very similar to the relationship in The Lightening Thief and Sea of Monsters. If you think a better character can fill Annabeth's role, tell me who and more importantly tell me why.

If you liked reading than be sure to check out another one of my fanfics know as swards and hearts. I am currently editing the chapters of that story and the next part should be uploaded in early June.

You probably noticed I haven't updated that Fanfic in a while. That actually do to a novel I was writing for school. If you want to check it out here is a link:

story/16637081-the-decimation-game-twisted-reality

I upload different chapters on watt pad sporadically, but it'd mean a lot to me if you'd check it out.

Last piece of news: today I plan on doing a lot of writing. While I can't guarantee it I might be able to get another chapter of Elders Curse done today.


	3. Chapter 2: Chase and Escape

The warm water washed over Percy's body as he went over his plan one more time while cleaning himself in the shower. He had broke open his piggy bank earlier and saw that he only had about seventeen dollars in it. Because his grandmother lived outside of the city, getting a taxi to her house would be expensive. Percy, luckily, had already thought of that.

As risky a plan as it was, Percy wanted to steal money from Gabe. In the very few times Percy had gone inside his mother and Gabe's room, he saw where Gabe kept a stash of money. He claimed to be 'savin' it for a rainy day', though the money mostly went to drugs. Percy knew Gabe would be too preoccupied to realize Percy was going into his room until it was too late. Percy was going to steal the money in that box and take a taxi to his Grandma.

Percy had already called a taxi company and said to pick him up in the front of his apartment complex in about five minutes from the current time. Percy knew he'd have to time getting their perfectly.

After getting out of the shower and drying off, Percy put on his clothes; a plain black shirt with navy blue jeans and all white tennis shoes. Upon hearing the thunder and seeing brief streaks of lightning outside, Percy figured it was likely to rain later in the day. He decided to put on his grey hoodie on, just in case.

He then tucked a bag of change, the seventeen dollars from the piggybank, into the pocket of his hoodie. He then went under his bed a grabbed the secret stash of blue candy from his mother's work that he kept for 'emergencies'. Figuring this qualified as an emergency, he grabbed the remaining four pieces of candy and placed them into his jean pocket.

Last but not least, he grabbed the bag of marbles he had won from a friend last school year. Percy finally thought he would have some use for them. He placed the bag into the side of the hoodie that wasn't presently holding his money. Taking a few deep breathes, Percy got ready for phase A of his master plan.

Percy peeked his head out his now open bedroom door. He was able to make out the shapes of four men and could hear them all laughing at one another excitedly. Without even so much as even looking at the men, he walked through the room. Gabe hadn't noticed him until Percy was about halfway to between his room and Gabe's room. That was as much as Percy could ask for.

"Hey, where do ya think yer' goin' punk? Aren't ya supposed to be sick?" He asked somehow managing to sound snarky and angry at the same time. Without an answer, Percy jet into the Gabe's room, the wind flipping of the hood of his jacket.

"What do think yer' doin'? " Gabe yelled at Percy, who was already in the entrance of the room. Percy heard Gabe stand up and make his way over to the room, which meant Percy was extremely cut on time.

Ignoring the mess that was this room, he located the box that had Gabe's money in it. It was currently on top of a huge bookshelf about six shelves high, far too high for Percy to get quickly. Percy swore under his breath, but figured he was too far into his plan to turn back now.

Without stopping, Percy jumped on to the second shelve while his hands grabbed on to the fifth. He then moved his leg from the second shelve to the third and wrapped one of his hands around the box and while the other grabbed on to the back of the shelf to hold himself.

The second he did so, however, Gabe busted in the room. His face was red and his eyes were slits. Percy had never seen Gabe _this_ mad, which was saying something. Percy froze temporary, allowing Gabe just enough time to run towards and grab his leg. Gabe wasted no time in attempting to pull Percy down off the shelf.

No words were exchanged between the two, they weren't needed. Percy knew he was literally in a life or death situation here, Gabe was definitely going to kill him if Percy didn't win this exchange.

Keeping this in mind, Percy tried his best to kick Gabe with his free leg. This however, only caused Gabe to pull harder on his other leg. Percy heard him mumbling something but couldn't hear exactly what. Before either of them could realize it, the bookshelf was begun to fall.

Percy, who had both his hand on the top of the shelf now and no hands on the money box, was anxiously trying to claw his way up higher on to the shelf. Gabe, meanwhile, had his eyes closed and couldn't see anything that was going on.

The shelf eventually toppled under all the pressure. Percy felt a brief flying sensation before it was brutally ended by the ground. The edge the shelf nailed Percy in the chest on its way to the ground, causing him to completely lose his breath as his back cracked under the floor from the falling impact. Gabe on the other hand, had received a lot more damage. The entire bookshelf was on his back, and he didn't appear to be moving.

Without catching his breath, Percy slid from under the bookshelf and quickly grabbed the box of money that had fallen down to floor with him. Wasting no time, Percy opened the lone window in the Room and prepared to go through it. His head was spinning and his back hadn't completely recovered yet, but Percy kept on moving. He could rest once he was in the taxi.

Right as Percy had gotten out of the window, he heard a loud thump. Percy turned back to see Gabe had somehow gotten from under the bookshelf and was already lifting himself up. Not many words can describe how Gabe looked now, but demonic might be the best one.

Gabe's entire body was red and his eyes were pink. Hot tears of anger and pain were streaming down his face as he literally shook with rage. The fall with the bookshelf had netted him a plentiful amount of cuts and bruises.

Percy tried as hard as he could to run away from Gabe and get to the taxi, but the second Gabe got up, he was gaining on Percy. How Gabe was fast, Percy didn't know, but by time Percy was halfway to his destination, Gabe was only an arm's reach away.

Knowing he wasn't going to last much longer like this, Percy literally put in all of his marbles. Quickly reaching into his pocket, he grabbed and threw the marbles all over the rough road they were running on. Gabe, not able to stop, slipped on the marbles. His extremely hefty frame hit the ground with great impact.

Percy continued his best effort to escape, but it wasn't needed. Gabe had close to no energy left. The last amount was used when Gabe had finally gotten up, only to slip and fall gain. Percy reached the taxi cab, panting heavily. He quickly opened the door, sat in the back seat, and shut the door.

"Hey kid, you all right, you seem out of breath?" A man asked with a strong northern accent. The man looked about average height and was relatively young. He looked like he had just started growing a goatee. He wore his blue cab uniform very professionally and seemed to give off the overall aura of confidence and safety.

"Yey, I'm fine; I just thought I was late so I decided to run here" Percy lied as he spoke in between breathes.

"Oh, well no worries, I woulda' been willing to wait on you. You headed to the address you told us on the phone right?"

"Yey and I'm in a bit of a hurry." Percy rushed out while staring back at Gabe, who was slowly making his third attempt at getting up.

"My apologies then, show me that you can pay for it we'll be out of here faster than you can say taxi cab."

Percy simply opened the box of Gabe's money and showed to driver, who looked like he had just hit the Jackpot. Without another word, they were driving out of the apartment complex.

"I'm going to take a nap, wake me up when we are almost there." Percy told the driver. He knew he should be more cautions as the driver could easily take his money and kick him out of the car while he was sleeping. Still, the recent chase had Percy tired. Without thinking much more on it, Percy popped one of his blue candies into his mouth and went to sleep.

"Hey kid, we'll be there in a few." The driver repeated for the third time, this time he actually succeeded in waking up Percy. They were only about half a mile away from Percy's Grandma's house. The weather had turned foul since Percy had been sleeping. It was storming extremely badly. Lightening was racing across the dark, clouded sky followed by the deafening boom of thunder. The rain was at the mercy of the sharp winds, which was gusting in every which direction.

Percy noticed that they were truly in the middle of nowhere. Excluding the road, the only thing out around here were trees from the woods.

"Thank you sir." Percy thanked while stretching and yawning. He felt some of his joints pop as he did so. That whole bookshelf incident hurt Percy a lot more than he originally thought. Apparently the popping was audible as the driver looked at Percy through the rear view mirror. His hazel eyes looked genuinely worried.

"Are you alright kid? That didn't sound too good?" He asked, not taking his eyes of the mirror looking at Percy.

"Yey, I-I'm fine. Thanks for asking though." Percy lied once again.

"Don't mention it. I've got a son of my own actually. He actually looks a fair bit like you. Guess that's why I kind of feel protective of you." The man then turned around and gave Percy a reassuring smile, which Percy initially returned.

That was until Percy saw something in the street. It looked like a black cat, though it was slightly unique. Its golden eyes seemed to glow, so much so that they were visible even in the midst of a storm. The cat was also a fair bit taller than most cats. Strangest of all, the storm didn't seem to be affecting the cat. The cat stood perfectly still, apparently licking his paw, without a care in the world that a massive storm was happening, or that a car was about to hit it.

"Look out!" Percy yelled at the driver while pointing to the cat in the middle of the road. The Driver instantly whipped his head around and saw the cat. The driver tried his best to brake, but on the slippery conditions of the road it did no good. The car skidded across the road with no sort of friction.

Percy tried to scream, but it seemed to be caught in his throat. He felt weightless as the car found its way off the road, still accelerating a rapid rate. There was nothing stopping the impact of the car and the tree on the side of the road.

Percy's ears were ringing as he tried to steady his vision. Fighting dizziness and weariness, Percy fought his eyes open. He was greeted with a traumatizing site.

The back of the car, excluding the airbags, was completely normal. Percy, from what he could tell, didn't suffer any real injuries. The front of the car, however, was a completely different story.

The front of the car was currently bent and shaped around a large oak tree. The airbags were deployed and seemed to be stained with blood. The man driving the taxi was nowhere to be seen, though it didn't take Percy four guesses to find out where he was. There was a large hole in the front of the window that looked to be just the size of the driver. Trembling, Percy opened his doors and got out of the car.

He walked over to the tree and saw the man's body right under the tire. His face was cut deeply; shards of glass were lodged deep in his face. The most gruesome of the pieces of glass was the large piece that lodged deep within the man's left eye. Percy didn't know if he was dead, but didn't have the stomach to check.

Percy needed an adult; he needed someone who could take action right now. He needed to find his grandma. Dizzily, Percy walked up the street, determined to find his grandmother at all cost. Previously he just wanted to see her, now he _needed_ to see her.

After about five minutes the dizziness Percy had been experienced wore off. The death of the taxi cab driver was fresh on his mind, but the sting of mortality had yet to his. With all the Adrenalin pumping through Percy's body, he couldn't mourn. Not yet at least.

A/N

Hey guys, I'm actually going to end this chapter here. It was originally longer but I decided to add the rest in the next chapter. The next chapter is going to be exciting (in my opinion) and is really going to show where the plot of this story in going. The chapter after next I will be introducing my heroine which, unless I'm told about some who will fill her place better, is going to be old Anne.

I'm actually surprised how much support I've got for this story so far, I know for larger writers it isn't much, but for me, ever review, follow, and favorite means the world to me. I want to thank all of you know for giving my story a chance. If you have any suggestion for the story, tell me.

If you liked reading than be sure to check out another one of my fanfics know as swards and hearts. I am currently editing the chapters of that story and the next part should be uploaded in early June.

You probably noticed I haven't updated that Fanfic in a while. That actually do to a novel I was writing for school. If you want to check it out here is a link:

story/16637081-the-decimation-game-twisted-reality

I upload different chapters on watt pad sporadically, but it'd mean a lot to me if you'd check it out.


	4. Chapter 3: Arrival

The rain and storm had finally stopped, though the weather was still unfavorable. The heat of spring combined with such a drastic amount of water on the ground led to a thick, humid fog. Breathing in it was almost as difficult as seeing through it.

Percy was sitting along the trail to his grandma's house. The trail seemed to go on forever as he had walked at least a mile and still had yet to come to the house. He couldn't even see the house because of the fog; he prayed the mailbox was actually leading him to the right location.

Percy had had enough time to finally calm down and accept the taxi cab driver's death for what it was. Percy, who had been taking a breather, took in his surroundings and hatched an idea.

Surrounding him, in between trees were random sprouts of bushes, each containing some sort of flower. The flowers were beautiful, each unique in its own way. The flower on the bush next to the tree he was leaning on was by far the strangest flower he'd ever see. It looked like a rose, except it was grey with violet splotches on random parts of the flower and stem.

Percy, ever so carefully, plucked one of the flowers off the bush; he was very wary of the thorns on the stem and did well not to cut himself. Percy then proceeded to do this with all the bushes around him; each bush having its own strange rose coloring. He did so until he had about twelve flowers.

He then took the stem of one flower and wrapped it around the others, making what would appear to look like a make shift bouquet. This would have to serve as his memento to the driver. That driver had died helping him reach his grandmother; he deserved to have something from Percy.

Percy began to contemplate whether or not to take this to his body now or wait and do it on his way back through. Percy didn't notice the fact that something was staring at him, deep within the fog. It had been watching, waiting, and now it was approaching.

Due to the fog, Percy didn't see anything, his ears however we're not as useless. He heard the low grumble of what sounded like a monstrous beast. The grumble was steadily getting louder, growing with each increasing step the beast took. Eventually it was close enough for Percy to make out a shadow.

Percy, who had been clinching the flowers so tightly in fear, backed away at rate that rivaled only a snail. His terror took up so much of his mind; he didn't even realize his hand was bleeding from the thorny flowers.

The beast suddenly stopped moving, presumable staring at Percy. Percy, against his better judgment, also stopped; regarding whatever that thing was cautiously. Expecting to have to run soon, Percy looked at his surrounding to find the best escape route.

Percy obviously wouldn't be faster than whatever that thing was, so outrunning the thing seemed out of the question. He had to find a way to get to a location where the beast wouldn't be able to get to him. His first instinct was to climb a tree, but none of the trees around him had branches low enough for him to start climbing on. Percy wouldn't have enough time to look around and find one, because at that moment, the shadow of the beast came sprinting at him from the fog, moving at a rate that was much faster than Percy's running speed.

Despite being clearly slower than the thing, Percy instantly sprinted from his position looking for a tree to climb. During the first couple of seconds of running, Percy was able to spot many trees, but he wasn't sure if they were climbable due to the fog obscuring his vision.

The beast, in the meantime, had already cut the distance between him and Percy in half, and looked to be completely caught up in another ten seconds.

Not looking back, Percy kept his eyes forward, and that's when he saw them. They were bright golden orbs of light that somehow shinned through the fog, located at what appeared to be just off the trail. Instincts kicking in, Percy decided to dart towards said golden orbs. As he approached them, he realized they were in a tree. Lucky for him, that tree was actually climbable.

Without looking back or missing a step, Percy jumped from one branch to another; already scaling half the tree. Unfortunately for Percy, this tree just happened to be short. The second his foot left the first branch to the second one, the beast had lunged; in doing so he completely bit off the branch.

The beast then spit out the stick and seemingly glared at Percy, who had finally gotten a good look at the thing.

It looked like some sort of morphed feline. It had the body and face of a lion. It had a regal golden pelt that didn't go well with his frightening teeth, which were sharper than a knife and were extremely bloodstained.

Its paws were large in comparison with his body, which made its claws were enormous. Its claws, unlike his teeth, was actually quite clean, you could easily see something of a shine on the graphite colored talons.

The most terrifying part of the thing was its tail. What should have been a normal lion tale was the tail of a scorpion. It stretched out of his body unnaturally and looked like it actually hurt the beast. The tail itself was black and his fur was golden, however the connection point between the two was a sickening purple color. The tail also appeared to have some sort of spikes on it, making it completely lethal.

The beast circled the tree Percy was on, never taking his eyes off him. Percy watched in sick fascination; that was until he heard a gentle meow from above him. There, on what looked like a semi-stable branch, was a black cat. It had beautiful silk like fur with glowing golden eyes. Those must have been what Percy had seen through the fog. Percy couldn't help but think this cat looked remarkably similar to the one that was in the middle of the road earlier.

The cat pawed at the branch, an act that Percy found adorable, though he figured it was probably trying to tell him something. It was at the instant that Percy felt the branch he was standing on get yanked from under him. Somehow, his instincts reacted fast enough for him to grab the branch the cat was standing on, leaving his legs dangling below him.

The beast was furious, that was now twice he had lunged to get Percy and came up with a wooden stick. He quickly spit it out and eyed Percy again, this time it would not miss.

Percy meanwhile was terrified. If that things jaw was strong enough the snap such a thick branch without much problem, something told him it wouldn't have too much trouble biting though him. Percy looked around desperately for a place to put his legs, the beast was sure to grab them on his next jump and pull him down.

Percy heard the cat meow again before it jumped from the branch it was on to another branch on a tree in front to them. This branch was in a much smaller altitude, so it wasn't an impossible jump. Percy turned his head to the beast, which was already sprinting and preparing to jump up at him. Figuring this was his best chance at survival, he jumped.

Time seemed to slow down as the beast, which had jumped at the same time as Percy, had his mouth around Percy's foot. Before the beast could snap his jaw shut Percy grabbed on to the same branch the cat was on. In doing so, his foot stopped falling, the beast however didn't. His mouth shut right as the foot was no longer in his mouth. The beast then fell forward with a large thud.

The branch, however, was too weak to hold Percy's weight and Percy instantly fell. Luckily, or unluckily, they landed directly on the beast. Percy immediately got off of the beast's head and dashed back on the trail. The beast, who was momentarily stunned, took a few seconds to recuperate. By time it did so, Percy was barley in its sight, that didn't stop it from continuing to chase it's pray.

Percy continued to run; finally the house was in sight, though calling it a house maybe giving it a bit of a favor. It was an old wooden cabin and looked like the wood was decaying. It looked to be about two stories. Percy noticed something extremely peculiar about the end of the trail that led to the house. Excluding the hole that was attached to the pathway, the entire perimeter of the house was surrounded by huge rose bushes, they were nearly bigger that the house.

Because of the size and the amount of the thorns, getting though those bushes was nay impossible. This meant that there was only one way to get in the house and one way to get out.

By the time Percy had reached the porch of the old house, the beast's growl was completely audible. Percy attempted to dart up the stairs of the porch, only to have the first step break under the weight of his foot. Percy felt splinters enter his ankle, but ignored them and forced his leg out of the wood, causing even more pain and injury.

Limping, and eyes full of tears, Percy knocked on the door, dust leaving the door as he did so. The door didn't appear to be closed as it opened as soon as Percy knocked. The second he did so, the beast had arrived at the end of the trail. At the sight of Percy, it came barreling forward towards him.

Panic quickly taking over Percy's mind; he entered the house while battling his bruised ankle. He instantly shut the door and slung his body in front of the door, in the hopes of stopping the beast from breaking it down.

The impact never came surprisingly. A minute passed, two minutes; three minutes…the impact still never came. Percy finally opened his eyes, not realizing he had them shut this entire time. The house was extremely dusty, making it hard to breathe.

Percy was apparently in the living room. It was small, only containing a lamp, couch, and an extremely old television set. The couch was peach colored with what looked like a homemade blanket pelted across it. Neither the couch nor the blanket had a single wrinkle, making Percy wonder if they were ever used. The lamp looked extremely old, if the cobwebs were anyway to judge it by. It was on, however, so the light bulb was at least somewhat fresh. It provided Percy with enough light to see, without it he'd have to rely on the natural light coming from the window. And on a gloomy day like this one, he doubted there would be much light.

Percy crawled towards the window, his clothes getting filthy as they slid across the hardwood floors. Percy peered his head out the window to see the beast was no longer on the porch. It was, in fact, sleeping. Unfortunately for Percy, it was sleeping at the only exit, right on the trail in between the humongous rose bushes.

Why the beast chose now for nap time, Percy had no idea, but he didn't let it concern him. Now all he had to do was find his grandma, and find some way to escape. With that huge beast blocking off their exit, he figured escaping wouldn't be the easiest thing to do.

Percy thought to call for his grandma, but he didn't want to alarm her. She may think he was a burglar of some sort. Hopeful she'd see how much Percy looked like his mother and would believe he was her grandson.

Percy plopped on the couch and began to assess his wounds. His hand was extremely cut up from all the thorns from earlier. There were so many cuts he didn't know where to start when it came to treating them. He figured he'd need a lot of band-aids.

That's when Percy heard it, a large _clang_. It sounded like someone had dropped a dish on the floor. Thinking it was his grandma, Percy began to limp towards the direction of the noise, his ankle still in a large amount of pain.

The sounds was on the opposite side of the house, so Percy had to go through another room before getting to where the noise sounded, the kitchen he was assuming. The room he passed through looked like a small dining room. It had the same hardwood flooring as the living room. The center of the room had a rounds table with what looked to be velvet table cloth. Excluding the table, the only other thing in the room was a large statue.

The statue was that of a life-size knight, making it slightly taller that Percy. In one hand it was holding what looked like a shield; in the other was a sword. Next to the knight was a large display case that held both an axe and spear. Percy figured you could likely substitute the weapons in an out as you pleased.

Moving past the dining room he arrived in the kitchen. Before he could get a good look at the kitchen, his eyes immediately focused on a single figure in the room. That figure, definitely wasn't his grandmother.

It was human shaped; it had the standard eyes, nose, mouth, two arms, and two legs. Its skin was a completely unnatural sickening dark green. It wore no shirt and only had a ripped pair of red shorts on. It had many splotches of red pimples that were the size of an eye and were oozing yellow puss. Its face was ravenous. Its teeth were sharp and his eyes were cold, like killing was the only thing was on its mind. His cheek was burned deeply, so much so that you could see his teeth from that side of his face.

The second it saw Percy, it began to run towards him. As best as Percy could manage he sprinted back into the dining room. Where he was to go, he had no idea, but he knew he had to run. Percy looked behind himself to see the thing was already in the dining room. He turned my head back around only to get a face fool of steel. He had run into the statue of the knight, knocking both himself and the knight down. Percy rolled on his back and was about to try and get back up, when he felt a sharp weight land on his stomach.

Whatever that creature was had jumped on him, its face was mere inches away from his. Percy threw his best punch at the creature, but it merely caught his hand and pinned it along with the other behind his head.

The creature's mouth began to wet from the prospect of a tasty meal. So much so a large amount of saliva was landing on Percy's face. Percy heart thumped in his chest as he squirmed as best as he could under the monster's weight. He was too weak, he was powerless, he was going to die.

Percy closed his eyes and prayed whatever his beast did would be over quickly. Percy felt the beast approach his face. Its sickening breath nearly made Percy throw up. Right when it seemed it was all over, Percy heard a familiar meow. The monster, temporarily distracted, looked up. Percy felt some of the weight leave his chest as well as the monster loosen its grip on his hands. This was the opening Percy needed; he pushed with all his might. The monster, realizing what Percy was doing, tried to push Percy back down. It was, however, to late on discovering the ploy, and Percy was able to get the monster off of him for the time being.

Percy scooted himself into a corner, desperately trying to get himself up, though his ankle wasn't making it easy to do so. The monster was quickly to recuperate, and was up on its feet again in a flash. By the time Percy had finally gotten up in the corner, the monster was rushing right at him.

The monster was about to be right on him again and this time Percy doubted he'd live. That was when the monster let out a blood curling scream that seemed to shake the house. It then began to hobble on one leg while holding the foot of its other. It'd look somewhat comical had it not been for the situation. Percy looked down to see it was the black cat that had caused the monster to yelp. In the mouth of said cat was none other than the big toe of the monster.

Percy instantly began to run again or at least the best he could manage. He was in such a hurry to do so that he had forgotten about the knight statue on the ground. In his haste to escape, he tripped over it, landing directly on his face. Percy felt some blood escape his nostrils as he closed his eyes in pain.

Percy silently swore at the damned knight and was about to attempt to get up again. As he began to open his eyes, he noticed the sword the knight was carrying was now on the ground directly next to him. Percy then looked behind him to see the monster had completely recuperated and was preparing to dive on top of him.

His body acting faster that his mind could, he grabbed the sword and flipped on his back in the same motion. He then but the point of the sword up at the same time the monster dived at him.

_Splitch_!

The monster was instantly deeply impaled with the sword. It gave yet another blood curling scream that threatened to burst Percy's eardrums. Despite this, he twisted the sword under the monster. Blood began to come out of the mouth of the monster, landing directly on Percy's face and forcing his eyes closed.

Percy then flipped the monster over so that it was on the ground. He then retracted the sword and wiped the blood from his eyes before bringing down the blade on the monster's throat.

Silence finally returned to the small house. Percy didn't know what to think, or what to do. So many parts of his body was hurting him now, too many to register. Percy fell to his knees, tears falling freely down his face. Trails of the tears were visible through the blood covering his face. Percy retracted his knees to his chest and propped again the wall. He slowly began to dose off; vaguely aware of the cat that curled up with him.

**A/N**

Jeez, now that was one action packed chapter. Sorry if this was bit heavy on the gruesome details, I'll try and calm that down if it was. If it wasn't, then fantastic. Thank you guys for all the support so far, I definitely appreciate it.

Next update of this story should be Wednesday.

For those of you that follow my other story Swords and Hearts, that should be getting an update tomorrow.

Check out my novel on watt pad: story/16637081-the-decimation-game-twisted-reality

Thank you all for reading!


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